Donald Trump says US will ‘take care’ of countries that continue to buy oil from Iran after sanctions come into force

Firstpost – The US “will take care” of countries which defy its directive to bring their oil imports from Iran to zero by 4 November, President Donald Trump has warned, days after India announced that two of its firms have placed orders to import crude from the Persian Gulf nation.

Trump in May pulled the US out of the 2015 nuclear accord, saying it had “failed to achieve the fundamental objective of blocking all paths to an Iranian nuclear bomb.”

In an attempt to compel Iran to agree to a new accord, Trump reinstated sanctions that targeted the Iranian government’s purchase of US dollars, Iran’s trade in gold and other precious metals, and its automotive sector.

On 4 November, a second batch of potentially more damaging sanctions will be re-imposed on Iran’s oil and shipping sectors as well as its central bank. The US has asked buyers of Iranian oil to cut imports to zero starting in November.

“We will take care of them,” Trump told reporters when asked about the decision of some countries like India and China to continue to purchase oil from Iran.

Oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Monday said that two state refiners have placed orders for importing crude oil from Iran in November.

He had said that India has its own energy requirements which it has to fulfill.

Indian Oil Corp (IOC) and Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL) together have placed order for 1.25 million tonne (MT) of crude oil from Iran.